


chicken and waffles

by tostitos



Series: hello neighbor [3]
Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Drama & Romance, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, Insomnia, Lowercase, M/M, Obsessive Behavior, i'll write a better summary one day, maybe acquaintances to lovers??, minhyuk is soft for his zombie neighbor, wonho is not the good kind of desperate
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-14
Updated: 2018-05-11
Packaged: 2018-12-15 07:02:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11800890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tostitos/pseuds/tostitos
Summary: When Minhyuk opened the door to his home and the door to a new friendship for his (totally not cute) neighbor, he was hoping they'd maybe get comfortable enough to chill from time to time. In hindsight, he should have known feelings were bound to come.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i don't know if you know how great my title is but i almost screamed as i typed it out this has never happened to me before
> 
> on the flipside, the summary is poo and doesn't really describe this at all. but this is part 3 of my neighbors!au and it will be a few chapters and have a plot unlike the other two. (i didn't flesh out a lot of characterization in the first chapter, so if you didn't read the first two parts, you'll probs miss out on some personality quirks and jokes)

minhyuk walks off the elevator, feet shuffling lazily beneath him and shoulders hunched over with the kind of heavy exhaustion one can only feel after being tackled and climbed all over by five years olds for six hours, to the sound of knocking. and it's not ordinary knocking; it's a desperate kind of pounding, like the police trying to bust in or someone worrying that the person on the other side will leave them hanging if they're not making a scene. it's happened couple times in the time minhyuk has lived there. usually, it's the woman who lives in apartment 325 trying to get the attention of her lazy husband after she's accidentally locked herself out. to his surprise, mrs. gong isn't screaming her head off and banging on her door with enough power to dent the wood.

"babe, i swear it wasn't what it looked like! we were just having coffee between friends!"

the excuse sounds like the ones in the movies where the boyfriend is obviously a cheating liar. minhyuk would have laughed if not for the fact that the guy trying to get his partner's attention was standing right outside apartment 305. hyungwon's.

minhyuk's eyebrows shoot up at the revelation that hyungwon is, or was, rather, in a relationship with a man. he tried not to make a habit of guessing other people's sexualities considering he hated when others did to him, so it's not that he expected hyungwon to be straight, per se. hyungwon just doesn't seem like the type to care for the effort being in a relationship requires.

walking up to his door, minhyuk gives the man in front of his neighbor's door a weird non-smile when he looks over. it's not returned (although minhyuk didn't think it would be). lifting his hand, keychain ring hanging from his fingers, minhyuk grips his key and fits it into the lock. just as he twists it, the sound of another door opening has him turning his head.

"shin hoseok, if you don't leave, i'm calling the police," comes hyungwon's harsh voice. he doesn't sound mad as much as he sounds like he's tired and minhyuk doesn't know what's worse.

the tall hand model doesn't stick his head past his doorframe and minhyuk doesn't think it would be appropriate to arch his head over and say 'hi' right now, so he steps into his own apartment and shuts the door quietly behind him to hoseok trying to explain himself.

 

netflix is unnecessarily asking if he's still watching terrace house when there's a set of knocks at his door. minhyuk rises from his couch, grimacing at the sound of his bones cracking, and shuffles to the door. he peeks through the peephole and spies hyungwon standing out in the hall, his arms crossed over his chest as he waits.

minhyuk opens the door with a half smile. "what's up?"

the smile hyungwon gives him is tense around the corners. "do you mind if i use your shower? my shower head is broken and i don't have the patience to buy a new one to fix it right now," he says, rubbing at his elbow.

minhyuk almost coos but he stops himself. in his defense, he works with kids and has very weak immunity against the Cute. "yeah, of course." he shrugs.

hyungwon nods and his smile becomes a bit more natural. "thanks. i'll, uh, be back then." he starts to side-step back to his apartment.

"i'll leave the door open," calls minhyuk after him.

retreating into his own apartment, minhyuk takes his spot back on the couch and tucks his feet under his legs. he grabs his xbox controller and resumes the show he was watching. he pauses again not even five minutes later when hyungwon pushes open his front door with a small 'it's me'.

minhyuk hops up to show him to the bathroom down the hall. he thanks himself for cleaning the place the other day so that he doesn't have to explain how awful he is at being a functioning adult to hyungwon (not that he really thinks his neighbor who can't make waffles would care).

his bathroom is probably the same as hyungwon's but minhyuk still walks in with him. hyungwon sets his small bag with presumably a change of clothes inside on the floor.

minhyuk draws back the orange shower curtain. "i don't know why but the labels are switched so right is hot, left is cold, and you know you push the thing in to switch from the faucet to the shower head."

hyungwon hums in understanding, nodding his head. "it's fitting," he mumbles, sniffling lightly.

for a second, minhyuk tells himself he's not going to ask. he's not interested. but when he looks away from his tub and up at hyungwon who blinks those big zombie eyes at him, he finds himself asking, "what do you mean?"

hyungwon shrugs. "nothing. just that you're kind of quirky and the fact that your handle is backwards fits you well."

pouting a little bit, minhyuk stands. "quirky?"

"it's not an insult so you don't have to look like that."

minhyuk isn't so sure. but anything in that monotone voice can sound like an insult. hyungwon could say he really appreciates minhyuk and thinks he's the best, most accommodating neighbor ever and it would probably sound like sarcasm. (would probably actually _be_ sarcasm too.)

so he lets it go.

"do you need a towel?" he asks, already walking around the other man to the door.

he leaves the man to shower when hyungwon shakes his head and tells him that he has one, and returns to the living room.

 

it isn't until hyungwon is standing next to his tv, damp hair clinging to pale skin, that minhyuk remembers that there is a kind of unreal beauty hidden within his neighbor. (it's not really hidden but, faced with hyungwon's dead on arrival attitude, sometimes minhyuk forgets.)

"why are you staring at me?" hyungwon's thick brows draw together and his nose scrunches cutely.

minhyuk blinks once and jerks his head, blushing lightly. "wasn't. i got lost in my thoughts and just happened to be looking in your direction," he says and while it's not a complete lie, it's also not the whole truth.

he sees hyungwon shrug out of the corner of his eye. "if you say so. thanks for letting me use your shower. i've felt slimy all afternoon."

minhyuk nods. "yeah, it was weirdly humid today."

"yeah, i guess," hyungwon agrees, although he doesn't sound like he was talking about the weather.

minhyuk wonders what else could leave him feeling that way if it wasn't the weather.

"are you going back next door now?" he asks instead.

a drop of water trails down the side of hyungwon's face and minhyuk finds himself watching it. he sighs when hyungwon wipes it off with the back of his hand a second later.

"are you inviting me to stay?" hyungwon asks like he genuinely isn't sure if minhyuk is or not.

"would you like to stay?" minhyuk returns.

hyungwon frowns, vaguely annoyed. he takes two steps forward before stopping again and crossing his arms. "this is your apartment, minhyuk. i don't get to make that decision."

minhyuk is pretty sure hyungwon sees him as a child and it makes him laugh because mr. cool zombie man would think something like that. (he also isn't wrong).

"stay. it's not like you have anything better to do."

"i could sleep," hyungwon counters, raising an eyebrow.

"but you won't because that could ruin your sleep schedule."

his response takes hyungwon by surprise, like he wasn't expecting minhyuk to be aware of that. minhyuk supposes that's fair; it's true he doesn't know much about insomnia.

he grins. "come on, we're the same age. we should be best friends."

hyungwon looks like the thought of that pains him to his very core but minhyuk knows enough about his neighbor to know it's just an act.

"i guess," hyungwon mumbles, wiping moisture from his neck.

"cool!" minhyuk lifts himself off the couch, the show he was watching long forgotten. "have you eaten dinner, yet? i can cook, if you want."

he walks into the kitchen with hyungwon on his heels. "when we met, you almost burned our building down cooking chicken."

minhyuk snorts. "two weeks ago you almost burned our building down making frozen waffles so what's your point?"

hyungwon is silent.

and minhyuk laughs.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> long time no see, friends. i don't think anyone actually missed this story so maybe no one noticed how long it's been since i updated lol
> 
> note: mentions of obsessive behavior and lowkey stalking

when he was back in college, staying up until three in the morning most nights, he used to turn his phone off before he slipped in bed. he had a rambunctious set of friends — the type to go out and party no matter what responsibilities they had the next day — and they never quite understood that hyungwon wasn't available to hang out after ten at night.

he stopped turning it off after a month of waking up to too many missed calls and _dude r u dead????_ texts. but, as he finds himself listening to the aggravating buzz and jingle of his phone now, at — he turns his head to look at the digital numbers of his bedside clock — two forty-seven, he sits up in bed and snatches the mobile device off his nightstand.

his ex boyfriend's face, smiling and happy, fills the screen and the only thing that keeps hyungwon from chucking his phone across the room is the angry death grip he has on it. he ignored the first two calls, hoping hoseok wasn't going to fall into the three times the charm myth. after the third call, hyungwon sent a message: a simple please stop calling me that went ignored in the favor of a fourth call. there was a span of an hour in which there was beautiful silence and hyungwon lied down to try and sleep. and then came the fifth call and the sixth and the seventh. at phone call number eleven, hyungwon really can't do it anymore.

he doesn't want to talk it out and hoseok knows that. and for as sensitive as hoseok claims to be, he's incredibly manipulative to call nonstop like this so late at night while knowing about hyungwon's trouble falling and staying asleep and how anxiety only makes it harder.

the phone goes quiet in his hands and through the tears building out of stress clouding his eyes, hyungwon holds down the power button until he can swipe his thumb over the option to turn the device off.

even with it off, relief doesn't come to him. tossing the phone to the side, he pulls up his knees and wraps an arm around them over the top of his blanket. fanning at his face with his other hand, he tries to dry the moisture in his eyes before it drips over his cheeks. he can feel his heart thudding furiously in his chest, the beats getting quicker instead of calming as he sits in the long-awaited silence wide awake with his thoughts.

he really wants — _needs_ — hoseok to let it go, to understand that hyungwon isn't interested in whatever stupid excuse he'll come up with for cheating. his ex has already shown up to his apartment unannounced once; who is to say he won't do it again? by now, hoseok has to know that he turned off his phone. what if he's in his car this very moment, driving over to bang on hyungwon's door like a madman again and make a scene? he doesn't have the strength, emotionally or physically, to fight with hoseok. he's tired. so damn tired.

squeezing his eyes shut, hyungwon wipes the few stray tears that have spilled over his lashes and tries to regulate his breathing. he doesn't think he's going to get to sleep tonight, but if he does, being so riled up paired with the extra melatonin in his system is going to give him nightmares.

when he slides out of bed, everything is shaky — his breaths, his hands, his legs, his vision. he moves through his room and down the hall blindly, already too accustomed to the dark to bother with the lights.

in the kitchen, he opens the refrigerator and pulls out the carton of milk. he checks the expiration date in the bright light and, upon seeing it's still good, sets it on the counter beside the stove. he isn't fond of milk if it's not in cereal, but he's out of chamomile tea and so warm milk will have to do. he heats it in a small pot on the stove and pours it into a snoopy mug before he can accidentally burn it.

relocating to the living room, he takes a seat on his couch and pulls his knees up to his chin again. he holds his drink in front of his knees, too exhausted to care about the mug scalding his hands.

it'll be another long night.

 

"noona, i'm not asking you to cancel my shoot because of some stupid reason," hyungwon hisses as he tries to unlock his door and once again misses the key hole. "i've been awake for fifty something hours with maybe four hours max of sleep in between. i've been trying to get into my apartment longer than i've been on the phone with you and i can't even do that because my hands are shaking so badly. i'm not going to make a fool out of myself trying to model a watch in this condition. cancel the shoot or don't. either way, i'm not going."

his house key drops from his rattling fingers and hyungwon stares at it lying by his feet with wide eyes. his breath hitches and all of the pent up stress from the past few days threatens to spill over.

over the phone, his manager is still rambling about things that pass through his ears like wind.

"hyungwon?"

a hand reaches in front of his face, heading for his keys. another hand gasps his, turning it over and uncurling the fist he didn't realize he had made.

blinking slowly, hyungwon lifts his head. minhyuk stares back at him with a frown and eyes focused with concern.

minhyuk drops his keys into his hand. "are you okay? you've been standing there just staring at your keys for almost three minutes."

if hyungwon wasn't such a mess, he would scoff because obviously he isn't okay. he's exhausted and irritable and scared. hoseok hasn't visited yet but he has called five times in the last two days and sent too many texts asking hyungwon to pick up the phone.

hyungwon wonders if he's happy, having completely ruined all of the progress hyungwon has made with his insomnia and turned him into a nervous wreck.

nodding, hyungwon pulls the phone from his ears, only then noticing that his manager has long since hung up. "i've had better days," he answers his neighbor's question. "i know i probably look like a disaster right now."

minhyuk shakes his head. "are you going to be okay alone? i'm free for the rest of the day if you want some company," he says, voice soft and quiet as if speaking over a certain volume would scare hyungwon into running away.

it's a sweet gesture, but hyungwon just wants to be alone and wrapped up in blankets until night falls and he can try to find sleep.

"no, that's fine. but thanks for offering." hyungwon tries for a smile. "who would have thought the guy who used to get on my nerves washing his clothes at odd hours of the night would turn out to be so accommodating?"

the joke falls flat on minhyuk who still looks like he's afraid hyungwon is going to pass out and collapse to the floor any second. (thinking about it, that would be a blessing.)

"i'll take your word for it, but know you can come over if you need to."

minhyuk waits until hyungwon fits his key into the lock and pushes the door open before going over to his own apartment and letting himself in.

hand clenching the doorknob tight, hyungwon rests his forehead against his door from inside his apartment and finally whispers,

"thank you."

 

hyungwon picks a tiny ball of lint off the front of his sweater and rolls it in between his fingers before flicking it to the floor. he shifts his weight from foot to foot, the plastic bag dangling from his left wrist knocking against his thigh with the back and forth movement. he stops moving at the sound of a lock clicking and glances up from the floor just as the door before him is pulled open.

minhyuk’s eyes grow wide once they land on him and hyungwon offers him a small smile. it’s been a week since his semi breakdown in the hallway and the last time he’s seen minhyuk in person. his neighbor has dropped by to check on him, but hyungwon only assured him he was okay through the door, not wanting the older man to see him when he looked like the walking dead.

he fell asleep for five hours the night of his breakdown and it took him a couple more days to feel a semblance of control over his life. sleep still isn’t coming as ‘regularly’ as it used to, but he already knew that wouldn’t happen so fast.

but now he’s…better and as weird as it was for minhyuk to throw chocolate over to his section of the balcony, hyungwon appreciates the sentiment and wants to return the nicety.

“hey,” he says shyly.

“hey,” minhyuk returns, schooling his expression to one less shocked.

hyungwon lifts the plastic bag on his arm. “i brought jajangmyun. i thought maybe we could have dinner?”

still a little taken off guard, minhyuk nods slowly. “yeah, sure. i’m always down for free food.”

“i never said you didn’t have to pay me back.”

“well then you can take your tiny tree branch ass next door and fill up on your two orders of jajangmyun,” minhyuk quips back just as quick, swinging his door open further for hyungwon to walk in.

the apartment smells of spring clean laundry detergent and hot chocolate. it’s an interesting scent, considering the dirty socks hyungwon steps over on his way to the couch.

“were you actually washing clothes or did you just spray air freshener everywhere hoping it would magically clean your clothes for you?” he asks as he sets the food down on the floor.

picking up his socks, minhyuk tosses them in a random direction. they don’t go very far.

“cleaning is a long, stressful process,” he says. walking straight by the couch, he settles in the puffy, swiveling desk chair seated before a desktop pc.

hyungwon notices the vibrant screen of some game as he takes out the wrapped containers of jajangmyun and tangsuyuk. “what were you playing?”

minhyuk types up something before spinning around in the chair. “overwatch. you play?”

snorting, hyungwon lays the wooden chopsticks over the containers and crinkles the plastic bag. the aroma of dinner surrounds him and his stomach growls. “i’m killer at mario party if that counts.” he glances up when minhyuk stands and walks over.

“do you mean mario party from when it was good or after nintendo ruined everything with mario party nine?” dragging over a small table covered in cute laminated posters and flash cards, minhyuk cleans it off and tells hyungwon they can use it to eat.

“were you really one of those people mad about the stars and everyone going around in the same car thing?” hyungwon laughs as he moves the food to the table and opens the containers.

“you’re using past tense as if this isn’t still an open wound.”

“shut up and get over here and eat,” hyungwon orders through his laughter.

saluting, minhyuk leaves his school materials in the space beside his keyboard and comes over, falling onto the couch a little too close for people who just recently decided to be ‘friends’.

“so,” minhyuk snaps his chopsticks open and rubs them together between his palms, “what’s with the spontaneous feast? not that i’m complaining.”

hyungwon fiddles with his own chopsticks, picking a splinter coming off the side. “i wanted to say thank you. you didn’t have to be so concerned with my wellbeing and i know i’ve been kind of avoiding you—”

“you needed time to yourself, hyungwon. it was fine.”

“— but i really appreciated it.”

minhyuk reaches for the pork and picks up a piece. “anytime. that’s what neighbors are for. now say _ahhh._ ”

“try to feed me and i will stab you in the thigh.”

pausing with his hand halfway to hyungwon’s scowling mouth, minhyuk retreats and eats the pork himself.

“you’re really good at ruining a nice mood,” he says, talking as he chews. “but i’m glad you’re feeling okay.”


	3. Chapter 3

"hey, you!"

minhyuk flinches at the sudden call and his keys fly out of his hand. he scrambles to get a hold of them but they unceremoniously hit the floor with a clinking twinkle.

he looks over at where the voice came from and his brows tighten at the sight of a man he barely recognizes standing out hyungwon's door.

"uh, yes?" bending over, he picks up his keys and threads a finger through the ring.

the man is all muscle, looking like he's seconds away from bursting through his shirt like superman but without all the cool of a superhero quick change. his mouth is twisted in a frown and his attention doesn't last on minhyuk, his eyes shifting to hyungwon's door.

"do you know if the guy who lives here is home?" he asks. "i told him i'd be here at eight but he hasn't opened his door yet. i need to talk to him."

something uncomfortable in minhyuk's stomach flips. it's almost eleven thirty; there's no way this guy has been out here for three hours.

shaking his head, minhyuk tries to maintain a neutral face. he remembers this man trying to talk to hyungwon a couple weeks ago. his ex or something. "sorry, man. no idea. did you call?"

the man curses and jiggles the doorknob. "yeah, but he won't answer his phone. i really need to talk to him."

minhyuk grimaces openly, giving up on his passivity. "maybe you should leave it alone, then. you coming over here like this isn't going to make him meet with you if he doesn't want to."

"you don't understand!"

"your problem? no, i don't. but i do know that you're freaking me out and i would rather if you left. if my neighbor wants to talk to you, he will. but now he's either busy or doesn't want to see you so please leave before i call security."

"please, i-"

minhyuk takes out his phone and dials a number.

the man holds his hands up, placating. "wait! can you just wait?"

"no." the line clicks over. "excuse me, this is the resident of 307-"

"okay!" the man shouts, finally separating from the door and shuffling toward the elevator. "okay. i'm going."

minhyuk holds the phone to his ear until the elevator doors close behind the man. exhaling heavily, he turns to his door and shoves his key in the lock.

"um, what is going on over there?"

letting himself into his apartment, minhyuk kicks off his shoes. "sorry, jooheon. there was some guy and i was trying to scare him away by threatening to call security."

"are you okay? do you need help?"

"no, i'm good. he left. i'm just glad he took the bait."

their apartment building isn't high-end enough to have security and minhyuk was terrified of the man's reaction to his lie. thankfully, the man must not visit often enough to know (or was too wired from his emotions), because it worked.

but that doesn't make minhyuk feel any better. not when he thinks about how adamant the man was about seeing hyungwon or how he'll probably be back.

 

"damn it."

minhyuk grabs for the oven mitt sitting on the counter beside his rice cooker and raises it in the air, waving it around even if he doesn't know if that'll help. he's not even burning anything making a frozen pizza and yet his fire alarm is beeping.

it's close to midnight and with these thin walls he doesn't want to disturb anyone on a week night. the alarm has a mind of its own, making a bunch of noise for no reason, and after a few minutes of fruitless waving, minhyuk throws down the glove with a huff.

"where'd i put the step stool?" he sighs, ruffling his hair in annoyance. he'll have to take out the batteries. they're probably old.

as soon as he makes it to his front closet, there's a knock at the door.

great.

peeling the door open with a sheepish smile, it drops into a worried gape when it's hyungwon on the other side.

"i'm so sorry. it's not my fault but i swear i'm fixing it."

hyungwon gives a small laugh that sounds more like a simple exhale. "as annoying as it is, i'm not here because of the alarm."

minhyuk blinks. "you're not?"

hyungwon shakes his head. "i wanted to say thank you. for earlier. for getting hoseok to leave." with each word, his expression gets colder and colder until minhyuk wants to reach out and warm him back up with a hug.

"how did you know? i wanted to tell you but i thought it was too late at night."

"i was there. inside, that is. behind the door," hyungwon reveals, looking down at his feet. "i-i didn't know what to do. i thought if i pretended i wasn't home that he'd eventually go away but he didn't. and then i heard you talking to him."

he doesn't say he was scared but minhyuk can hear it in his voice, a bit of high pitched panic.

"neighbors gotta look out for each other, right?" although minhyuk isn't sure if that's the reason for the fierce protectiveness heating his blood and making him consider going to the gym just in case that hoseok guy comes back and he needs to resort to fisticuffs.

but hyungwon nods and gives him a grateful smile that quickly drops. "he's always been kind of persistent but i was trying not to get anyone else involved so i'm sorry as well."

"what? hyungwon, that's fucking stupid."

ok, maybe he should have said that with more tact.

hyungwon blinks and presses his lips together so minhyuk continues on with a sweeter tone.

"if he's harassing you, you need to reach out to someone if only to keep yourself safe."

hyungwon's teeth poke out to nibble on his bottom lip as he casts his gaze to the side. "i know he's not going to hurt me," he mumbles. "and he'll have to give up eventually."

minhyuk raises an eyebrow. he could argue against that, say that hoseok doesn't have to physically hit him in order to hurt him, but he doesn't want to push too much.

before minhyuk can find something acceptable to say, there's banging on the wall separating his apartment from that of his neighbor on the opposite side.

minhyuk grimaces. "i should fix my fire alarm."

hyungwon nods. "i should've already been in bed so i'll see you?"

"yeah, definitely. have a good night. scream if you need anything."

"i don't think screaming is the best idea," hyungwon says with a laugh. "but i'll keep it in mind."

 

"minhyuk, we are not taking the kids to a trampoline park. they hardly know up from down."

lips pressed against the mouth of his carry-out cup, minhyuk pouts at his fellow daycare assistant and best friend, jooheon.

"it would be fun! and they'd be fine. i'm sure we can get some pool inflatables or something if you're that worried." minhyuk takes a sip of his latte as he throws his hand out in a flippant wave.

jooheon breaks off a chunk of lemon pound cake with his fingers, sighing. "and this is why you're not licensed yet."

minhyuk isn't licensed because he doesn't have the money to pay for the rest of his classes on top of the rest of his bills, but he lets jooheon have the last word anyway. only because he spies a familiar face entering the cafe and joining the short line leading up to the counter.

he watches the man order, not at all paying attention to jooheon throwing out other suggestions for a day trip.

"minhyuk, are you listening?"

humming absentmindedly, minhyuk sets his cup down and pushes his chair out. "yeah, yeah. those sound great. hey, i'm going to get something else to eat. you want anything?"

before jooheon can answer, he drifts away from their table and up to the man who has moved away from the registers to wait for his order.

"you come here often?" minhyuk asks as he smoothly slides up to the other man.

surprised, hyungwon flinches away with his hands held up close to his chest. "who– minhyuk?"

grinning wide, minhyuk salutes. "sorry, i didn't mean to scare you."

hyungwon shakes his head and slowly lowers his arms. "you did shock me a little bit but it's fine." he glances at the baristas working across the counter for a short second. "i didn't expect to see you here."

it's been a couple days since they last saw either other, minhyuk busy with work and hyungwon simply disappearing as he has a habit of doing.

"i'm here with a friend." minhyuk nods his head in the direction of his table and hyungwon looks out toward the seats.

"if your friend is the blond guy, then he doesn't look too happy with you at the moment."

minhyuk waves him off. "are you busy? on your way somewhere?"

hyungwon's name is called and he turns around to grab his drink from the barista with a quiet thanks. "home. i just got out of a meeting with my agent and a rep from v's jewelry," he says as he clasps both hands around the warm cup.

minhyuk's mouth rounds with surprise. that's a pretty popular brand. he knows hyungwon does ads for jewelry and accessories but he didn't know the younger man worked for such reputable, high end chains.

"i might've asked this before...but why do you only do hands? you've got a great face."

hyungwon blinks and although his face does that thing where it drains of all emotion, it also fills with a light blush. "um, thanks. i don't know if you've noticed, but i don't emote very well."

oh minhyuk has definitely noticed. "but isn't high fashion all about dead, uninterested faces?"

that brings a slight smile to hyungwon's face again. "is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"i like your dead, zombie face–” hyungwon snorts and rolls his eyes, "–it has charm."

"thanks, i guess." hyungwon chuckles and takes a sip of his drink. "well, you should get back to your friend so i'm going to..." he nods his head toward the exit.

glancing toward the cafe doors himself, minhyuk chews on the inside of his cheek. he clicks his tongue. "why don't you stay? we can go back together."

hyungwon stares him down over the lid of his drink with his bug eyes even wider than usual. he looks long enough for nerves to jumpstart minhyuk's heart and make him wonder if he overstepped some line he didn't know was there.

 

winter is approaching quick. the soft wind is just a few degrees away from being biting and minhyuk sighs as he one-handedly tries to pull his jacket tighter around himself. his breath floats before him in a cloud of white.

there's a tremble to the left of him and he looks over to see hyungwon shivering in his thick sweater and dark green knit scarf.

"i can't believe i forgot my gloves," hyungwon mumbles to himself and squeezes his fingers tighter around the refill he picked up before they left the cafe.

minhyuk wonders if it's appropriate for one neighbor to offer to hold another neighbors hand. probably not.

"maybe we should have called for a taxi," says minhyuk.

hyungwon hums a sound that says he doesn't necessarily agree. "it's nice to walk even if it is disgustingly cold."

"sounds like you're too cheap to pay for a taxi." with a chuckle, he nudges his neighbor's arm with his elbow.

unamused, hyungwon exhales a deadpan, 'wow.'

still, he nudges back and minhyuk, never one to back down from a clear challenge to fight, retaliates until they're pushing each other like a pair of children as they walk down the sidewalk.

"stop! people are looking," hyungwon hisses, slapping at minhyuk's hands when the older man reaches for him half a block later.

minhyuk easily evades his wild flailing and gets his hand on his shoulder to shove him lightly. he laughs airily, thoroughly enjoying the way hyungwon's plush mouth scrunches up in an annoyed pout.

"you started it!" he accuses in a very adult-like manner, sticking out his tongue when hyungwon glares at him.

he lets their silly game die out after hyungwon slaps his shoulder but is unable to help the happy grin painted on his face as he listens to hyungwon grumble about minhyuk being immature and that the older man is lucky that he didn't make hyungwon spill his coffee.

"you're complaining but you're warmer, aren't you?"

hyungwon halts, both in step and with his cup halfway to his face, and looks over at minhyuk with his zombie eyes. "do not pretend that's why you started that."

"you started it, remember? and you didn't deny it so i'm going to assume that's a yes."

hyungwon shakes his head and finishes taking a drink. "now i understand why you're so good with kids. you are one."

and while he pretends that minhyuk is wrong, the older man notices he doesn't shiver as much for a couple of minutes. it doesn't erase the strange, alien want to hold his hand, but knowing hyungwon is even just a little more comfortable makes minhyuk forget about the chill too.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> long time no see, friends. how ya been?

"are you eating?"

hyungwon rolls his eyes at his mother's very first words since he answered the phone. "yes, i am."

"proper, real food? as in made in the kitchen with more effort than boiling water?"

he glances down at the half empty box of fried chicken sitting by his side and hums in the affirmative. it was surely made in a kitchen somewhere. he knows what she means, but it's her fault for not specifying. "check and check."

she makes a noise like she doesn't believe him but she doesn't grill him about his eating habits any more. he's come a long way since when he left home for college and didn't know he had to brown the meat first before adding tomato sauce for spaghetti. he’s still a clumsy cook but he’s not at risk of giving himself horrible food poisoning anymore.

“you should come home some time,” his mother complains. “your brother is getting on my nerves.”

hyungwon chuckles and scrolls through the recommended list of dramatic crime shows on netflix on his laptop. “what does that have to do with me? i didn’t tell you to birth him.”

that starts his mother on a rant about his little brother eating everything in the house and how his general existence is preventing her from hosting drunk yoga parties for her friends. he half-listens to her and lets the rest of her words slip right through his ears. she used to ramble about hyungwon like that too. he thinks she’s just ready to have an empty nest and have the freedom to go on six month long cruises with his dad.

“oh, speaking of his new girlfriend, how are you and hoseok?”

hyungwon suddenly finds himself thrown back into the conversation, all of his attention on his mother and not if he should finally click on that weird looking anime netflix has been shoving in his face for weeks now.

he frowns. “i thought i told you we broke up.”

the small noise of confusion his mother makes sends a premature chill down hyungwon’s spine.

“i assumed you got back together. he called the other day and-“

“ _what_?” hyungwon exhales out. his eyes are blown wide with horror and he stares unseeing into the space of his living room. “what did he say?”

“he just called to say hi and ask for the recipe for crab stew,” his mother answers, sounding wary of hyungwon’s unexpected reaction.

hyungwon moves the phone away from his mouth to let out a shaky exhale without his mother hearing. squeezing his eyes shut, he tries to calm the trembling of his hands and the thudding of his heart. he tries to take steady breaths, holding in his inhales for a few seconds before letting them out slow, but it doesn’t help much. it doesn’t help at all, actually.

his mother is calling his name worriedly when he brings the phone back up to his ear.

“sorry. i got an email from my agent and got distracted,” he lies. he can’t tell his mother that he told hoseok to never contact him again and yet his ex boyfriend continues to do just that. the last thing he wants to do is make her worry.

she’s quiet for a moment and then softly calls his name. “i’m sorry. i didn’t think he would call if you two weren’t together again.”

neither did hyungwon. but he’s been wrong about a lot of things concerning hoseok it seems.

“it’s...” he takes another deep breath and feels moisture build at the corners of his eyes. “it’s okay. if all he wanted was the recipe, then i guess there was no harm done.” nerves shot, he bounces his leg to do something with the terror running cold though his veins. “mom, can i call you back?”

“are you sure? hyungwon, are you okay?”

he nods even though she can’t see him and scrubs at his watering eyes. “yeah, of course. you know i’d tell you if anything was wrong.”

his mother hums, and he knows that she’s suspicious, but she lets him hang up with a ‘love you’ and a request for him to stay healthy and call more often.

hyungwon has been holding it in for a while, has been trying so hard to not let hoseok’s persistence get to him, but it’s just been building for so long and with no one to hear, he lets himself break down.

 

_10 missed calls_

all after hyungwon sent yet another pleading message two days ago for hoseok to leave him alone and also not talk to his parents.

hyungwon doesn't understand it. he doesn't understand the patterns in which hoseok will call. sometimes it's close to a million times in less than an hour and sometimes he doesn't call for days at a time.

he doesn't understand what hoseok thinks he's doing. if he really thinks that he can win hyungwon back like this. by being weird and obsessive and calling and calling and calling.

he doesn't remember hoseok being that kind of guy.

he doesn't remember them having the kind of relationship that someone would desperately want to hold on to. they worked well together and it was a comfortable relationship but hyungwon never thought it was the kind of love that would last forever. and apparently neither did hoseok because he cheated.

so why?

he just doesn't understand.

"do you want to order pizza?"

hyungwon blinks as he bumps shoulders with minhyuk as the other man walks into his apartment. his mouth falls open in a gape and he watches minhyuk kick off his shoes and nudge them out of the way before continuing on into hyungwon's living room.

"um," hyungwon closes his front door and twists the lock, "i don't remember telling you to come in."

he turns around to minhyuk's eyes crinkled and smile wide. "but it's okay, right?" his laugh is throaty and warm.

hyungwon already knew, but it's a nice reminder that his neighbor is actually kind of annoying.

heaving a sigh, hyungwon shakes his head and leaves the entryway. he can't complain; minhyuk is a rather nice distraction from everything. aside from the issue of hoseok not taking a very clear hint to leave him alone, hyungwon's agent sent him an email telling him that she booked him for a last minute shoot at the end of the next week that requires him to fly out to thailand. which would be fine if he wasn't deathly afraid of flying.

minhyuk takes a seat on his couch as if this isn't only the second time he's been inside hyungwon's apartment. he has a smudge of purple on the bridge of his nose, hyungwon notices as he falls on the couch beside him. it's rather cute.

"did you paint with the kids today?" hyungwon says with a chuckle. he turns his body in to face minhyuk and pulls his legs up onto the cushion.

"i tried to clean up but i guess i missed some, huh?" minhyuk laughs in turn.

"yeah, you have a little bit around here." hyungwon circles his finger at his nose. "finger painting?"

minhyuk nods. "finger painting. it's fun until they start trying to stick their paint covered fingers in their mouths."

hyungwon doesn't get along with kids very well. he was that age once, yeah, but it's hard for him to bring himself back down to their level. it amazes him that minhyuk hasn't lost all of his childhood spirit yet and that he can work two jobs and still have the energy to keep up with them.

“and try to paint everyone and everything else?”

“no! that’s the best part.”

hyungwon must be openly grimacing because minhyuk looks like he’s been shot in the back by a good friend.

“do you even know what fun _is_?"

"flinging paint around and getting dirty isn't fun, minhyuk."

offended gape shifting into a determined firm press of lips, minhyuk pushes himself up off the couch with set shoulders. "i'll be right back."

blinking up at him, hyungwon frowns a bit. "...where are you going?"

taking confident strides toward the door, minhyuk answers: "to get my body paints."

the horror that rocks through hyungwon at his words is enough to propel the tired man up and off the couch. god he doesn't even want to think about the kind of mess that'll make -- and he isn't even a particularly tidy person. but the thought of sticky paint all over his clothes, the thought of minhyuk's fingers drawing abstract lines into the curves of his cheek and of him dragging stained fingers along the inside of minhyuk's arm are pleasantly intriguing to the wild, artsy part of hyungwon that he's never actually had and very stressful to the hyungwon who has never been the type of person to do something like that.

hyungwon would never call himself boring, but he's always just preferred sitting around and relaxing to running around. not to mention, his high stress levels in high school and dsythymia lead to short term insomnia and fatigue which killed much of the hunger for adventure and fun that a kid is supposed to have.

grappling onto his neighbor's arm, fingers curling around a surprisingly toned upper arm, hyungwon settles wide, panicked eyes on the older man. "minhyuk, please," he begs and tries to tug his neighbor back away from the door.

minhyuk fights against him, taking two steps forward for every one step hyungwon drags him back. "if it makes you feel better, we can do it shirtless!" he says, stretching out a leg as hyungwon threatens to tip him over.

" _what_? i'm not going to _strip_."

hyungwon's hands loosen and minhyuk steadies himself. to the hand model's surprise, his neighbor doesn't make a mad dash for the door. instead, minhyuk stares back at him, his eyes moving up and down hyungwon's gangly form before settling back on his face.

"ok, yeah, maybe that was a bit much." coughing, minhyuk offers up a sheepish smile and rubs at the back of his neck. "but i didn't think you would react like that."

honestly? neither did hyungwon.

"that's the most animated i've ever seen you since we met." hyungwon blinks and minhyuk chuckles at him. "and now you're doing the zombie thing again."

hyungwon can't help a small laugh of his own, part of it out of a mixture of relief and disbelief at what just happened and another part in response to minhyuk's amusement. many people have been put off by his horrible case of resting bitch face -- even hoseok when they first met -- but he's never met someone who thought it was a charm point of his. but hyungwon knows by now that minhyuk isn't like anyone he's ever met before.

"sorry, it's just...i'm really not in the mood for body painting today," says hyungwon.

minhyuk shakes his head. "why apologize? it was funny." his smile broadens into a wide grin and he wiggles his eyebrows. "and does that mean that you'll be in the mood one day?"

"no."

minhyuk hums suspiciously. "i think it does."

"i think you can leave my apartment and never come back," hyungwon deadpans. trusting minhyuk to have given up on his quest to get his paints, he turns on his heel and returns to his couch, plopping down on it and leaning over to lie his head on the arm rest.

snorting, minhyuk walks by the couch to pluck hyungwon's forehead before moving into the kitchen. "you enjoy my company."

hyungwon hears his phone ring from wherever the couch has swallowed it. hoseok, probably. ignoring it, he listens to minhyuk opening his fridge as he thinks. he won't say it out loud, doesn't want to imagine how insufferable minhyuk would be if he did, but he _does_ enjoy his neighbor's company.

minhyuk is so easy going; it's not difficult to spend time with him. and for two guys with minimal shared interests who got off on what could perhaps be considered the wrong foot, their friendship has formed so well.

"why don't you have anything to drink in here?" minhyuk walks around the couch and sits close enough for hyungwon to feel a phantom pressure teasing at his thigh. "do you want to get soda with the pizza? or i have some beer next door."

sitting up, hyungwon glances at his neighbor with narrowed eyes.

minhyuk frowns. "what?"

"have you ever been to thailand?"

a look of confusion crosses minhyuk's face as he obviously tries to figure out why hyungwon is asking this out of the blue. "um...no?"

"would you want to go?"

minhyuk shrugs. "yeah, who wouldn't? why?"

hyungwon bites into his bottom lip. "i have a shoot...next saturday. and i just thought...i don't know."

"you want me to go with you. to thailand. next week," minhyuk says like he's trying to make sure he's getting all of the details right.

"don't make it sound weird. i really don't like flying and it'd be...nice to have someone there who isn't my agent."

"oh."

at the plain response, hyungwon is awash with regret. shoving his hand in between the couch and cushion he's sitting on, he digs out his phone. "nevermind. what do you like on your pizza?"

"for how long?"

"don't worry about. it was a dumb question."

"for how long?" repeats minhyuk.

shaking his head, hyungwon pulls up the mobile ordering site for the nearby pizza place. "minhyuk, really."

"hyungwon."

the tone of his voice makes hyungwon look up. he sighs. "just the weekend."

minhyuk pops his lips. "i'll think about it."

hyungwon's eyes widen. "really? i just asked you out of nowhere."

"it's not a yes," minhyuk says. "i don't know if i'll be able to take off work-- or afford a plane ticket for that matter. but i'll take any excuse to go on a vacation."

hyungwon can't do anything but stare at his neighbor in complete surprise. it was such a spur of the moment thing to ask that he really wasn't expecting anything. yet here minhyuk is, taking him seriously.

leaning over, minhyuk peers at hyungwon's phone. "nice, there's a promotion for two large pizzas and soda."

 

hyungwon wakes up to the relentless ringing of his phone, a strange feeling of paralysis, and the gruff sound of minhyuk telling him to turn off his fucking phone. peeling open heavy lids, hyungwon peers around the darkened room. he wasn't in a particularly deep sleep but his head is still foggy, not aware enough to understand where he is or what's going on past the fact that his phone is illuminating up the room like a lighthouse on a small island in the middle of the pacific ocean. 

"sorry," he gargles and tries to lift an arm to reach for the still ringing device but he can't move. right. paralysis. blinking lethargically, he looks at his body. "what?"

then there's a sigh and the force weighing him down vanishes. a hand slaps down on the floor above his head a few times and the light from his phone flickers.

"call one more time. i dare you," minhyuk threatens in a low voice into the phone and when he pulls it away from his face, the backlight makes his glare a frightening sight.

hyungwon watches blearily as minhyuk turns off his phone and sends them back into darkness. his eyes automatically flutter shut, his brain still hardwired to sleep and hyungwon starts to succumb to the much desired feeling but there's a pinging behind the need to sleep that just won't shut up.

"minhyuk?" he asks and gets a grunt in response. "what are you doing here?"

beside him, there's shuffling and when minhyuk speaks, his voice is muffled. "sleeping? something you should be doing."

a socked foot brushes against his ankle. "oh," hyungwon mumbles. "okay."

there's a beat of silence and then hyungwon opens his mouth again. "why are we sleeping together?"

"we must have fallen asleep watching that movie," minhyuk answers, shuffling more. his shoulder bumps hyungwon's. "go to sleep, won. it's late and you need it."

humming, hyungwon vaguely remembers minhyuk dragging the cushions off the couch and onto the floor and saying something about how hyungwon's couch is small and he needs to lie down to get comfy. he thought it was dumb but eventually ended up on the floor with minhyuk as they worked through their two pizzas and watched bad sci-fi movies on netflix. 

rolling onto his side, hyungwon slips his foot between minhyuk's and promptly falls back asleep, the fact that he and his neighbor are lying so close together in the middle of his floor and sleeping together apparently not enough of a cause for alarm.


End file.
